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Lewis Carroll's 1871 fable "Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There" features a notable scene wherein the young titular protagonist runs across a pair of whimsically dunderheaded identical twins while lost in an alternate dimension. The characters are named Tweedledee and Tweedledum and are based on numerous 18th-century folk poems variously attributed to John Byron, John Pope, and Jonathan Swift. In an early epigram by Byron, the two characters agree to have a battle but are startled by a crow, and forget to fight each other. It wouldn't be until the publication of "Through the Looking Glass," and John Tenniel's illustrations therein, that Tweedledee and Tweedledum would be depicted as identical twins. 

In Carroll's book, the twins reenact the Byron epigram and flee when a crow appears. Some might say that Tweedledee and Tweedledum represent easily distracted governments, or merely the capriciousness of children. Either way,...

Exclusive: With the Mohamed Al Fayed exposé generating headlines this week, the disgraced business mogul’s portrayal as a mild-mannered matchmaker in The Crown, which landed Salim Daw a BAFTA nomination, has been in the spotlight.

But the EP behind the BBC’s Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods has said he is “reluctant to point a finger” at The Crown over choosing to portray him in this way, positing that The Crown is “a drama, not a current affairs program” – a theme that has repeatedly come up with regard Netflix’s now-ended smash royal series.

More than 20 women have accused Al Fayed – who died last year – of sexual assault via the BBC exposé, five of whom say he raped them. In the doc, a number of his victims say that they were emboldened to speak out after watching The Crown and growing angry at how Al Fayed was portrayed.

[This story contains spoilers for Am I Racist?]

“Decolonize yourself. Do your own white supremacy dismantling, and then you can start to bring in other people,” declares Regina Jackson at a Race2Dinner in Atlanta, part of an ongoing series she co-founded with Saira Rao designed to help white women confront their own racism, white supremacy and xenophobia. Before anyone can respond, the waiter proposes a toast, instructing guests to “raise a glass if you’re racist.” They all oblige — although Jackson, who is Black, quickly puts her glass down and laughs. “Oh, I’m not racist,” she says.

The seemingly klutzy caterer has been interrupting the group all night long, dropping dishes and even pulling up a seat to explain that he’s got his Dei (diversity, equity and inclusion) certificate. Many of the guests appear confused and perplexed by his odd behavior. “I’m just on the journey,” he says.

He is on a journey — just...

The story of Giancarlo Parretti, the flamboyant Italian waiter-turned-financier who bought MGM in 1990 and was ousted and indicted when his takeover deal for the Hollywood studio collapsed, is in early stages of getting the big screen treatment.

Independent Los-Angeles-based film producer Niels Juul has tracked down Parretti, now 82, and living in the lap of luxury in a palazzo in his native Orvieto. Juul is at the Venice Film Festival shopping a screenplay for the Parretti biopic titled “The Lion of Orvieto.”

The “Lion of Orvieto” is penned by TV comedy writer Michael O’Rourke, who has worked with Sacha Baron Cohen on “Da Ali G Show” but has also written several unproduced dramas. “Lion” is based on extensive research and an unpublished book containing in-depth interviews with Parretti.

Raised in an orphanage before being adopted at the age of 6, Parretti’s ascent into high-stakes financial wheeling and dealing started when he...

Despite some of the Ssu movies getting mixed or negative reviews (like Morbius), the Ssu keeps going and now has many live-action and animated projects in the works, focusing on Spider-Man’s side characters and villains. ‘Madame Web’ came out on February 14th and didn’t do well, with Dakota Johnson criticizing its development publicly.

Upcoming releases include ‘Kraven the Hunter’ on August 30th, 2024, and ‘Venom: The Last Dance,’ which changed its release date to October 25th instead of November 3rd. ‘Venom’ is the most successful franchise in the Ssu, so it’s not surprising that there are reports of Feige wanting to bring him into the MCU.

Even though “The Last Dance” marks the conclusion of Venom’s current story, it doesn’t signal the end of Venom-related projects. Recently, there have been discussions about an animated R-rated Venom project in the works. Now, a prominent source, CanWeGetSomeToast, has...

The best comedies on Max deliver big laughs from HBO originals to beloved sitcoms like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. There's something for all audiences, from animation like South Park to experimental comedies like The Rehearsal and Barry. Shows like Veep and Curb Your Enthusiasm provide a mix of comedy and drama, ensuring Max subscribers get the best of both worlds.

The best comedies on Max provide some of the biggest laughs on television. HBO Max is rapidly emerging as one of the leading streaming platforms, thanks to the presence of iconic HBO originals. Many of these are sitcoms with a loyal following, including the likes of Veep and Curb Your Enthusiasm. At the same time, comedy aficionados can also stream non-hbo shows such as BBC One's Ghosts and NBC's The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

The variety of comedies now on Max means there is something for all...

Seth Rogen is a well-known personality in the entertainment industry. Having won audiences’ hearts with his acting, comedy, and filmmaking skills, he often garnered attention for his opinions. As for his love life, it has long been sorted after meeting his now-wife, Lauren Miller, when they were working on Da Ali G Show. After dating for a few years, they exchanged vows in 2011. While the duo continue to enjoy their company, they have openly expressed their opinions on not having children.

Lauren Miller with Seth Rogen [Cred: Seth Rogen/Instagram ]Back in 2021, the former confirmed the same as he revealed why the couple are adamant on not having kids despite a great marriage.

Seth Rogen Expressed His Thoughts on Not Having Kids

Seth Rogen in The Green Hornet

While for some, parenthood is a major step in a couple’s life that upgrades their happiness to the next level, Seth Rogen and his wife,...

“Jury Duty” is a reality show. Or is it a sitcom? A documentary? An elaborate prank?

How about all of the above?

One of 2023’s defining breakouts, the Amazon Freevee series is the crown jewel of an ascendant hybrid genre sometimes referred to as docu-comedy. Even the people who made the show aren’t sure how to classify it. Director Jake Syzmanski and co-creator Lee Eisenberg say they’ve never heard that term. Eisenberg suggested hidden-camera comedy, but that’s not really accurate either, as everyone involved knew they were being filmed. Robyn Adams, a producer, used “outlined improv.” Whatever nomenclature best applies, this increasingly common format has enjoyed a banner year, with “Jury Duty,” Peacock’s “Paul T. Goldman,” BBC and Netflix’s “Cunk on Earth,” and HBO’s “How To with John Wilson” picking up where the likes of Sacha Baron Cohen and Nathan Fielder left off.

“There was a big worry about,...

As society has changed over the last several decades, so has television and film. Society now understands how to talk about people who might seem "different" in a new way, and much of that change has come in the last 20 years.

A lot of great television came from the early 2000s, but there are also some pretty problematic television shows and sitcoms that were on TV or in the mainstream media for a long time. With the changing rhetoric around people of color, women, fat people, disabled people, LGBTQ+ people, people of differing religions, and more, plenty of shows wouldn't have made it to air if producers knew then what they are more likely to know now.

Jackass (2000–2001)

Developed by Johnny Knoxville, Jeff Tremaine, and Spike Jonze, Jackass was a reality show that first aired on MTV and built somewhat of a cult following. The show centered around Knoxville and...

After years of anticipation, New York Comic Con's Percy Jackson and the Olympians panel treated fans to an exclusive look at clips from the upcoming Disney+ show's first episodes. The results were impressive, pulling key lines, locations, and moments in The Lightning Thief novel to television. The show boasts a talented supporting cast opposite Walker Scobell's Percy -- including Glynn Turman, Jason Mantzoukas, Megan Mullally, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and the late Lance Reddick -- and an experienced director for its opening episodes in James Bobin.

A veteran of Sacha Baron Cohen's Da Ali G Show, Bobin has since gone on to direct 2011's The Muppets and its sequel Muppets Most Wanted, as well as the live-action Dora the Explorer adaptation Dora and the Lost City of Gold. Speaking to Cbr after the New York Comic Con panel, Bobin discussed the timeless appeal of Percy's story, how the show remains true to the books,...

Billionaire businessman Mohamed Al Fayed has died, according to a statement from his family. The 94-year-old was known as a prior owner of both famed London department store Harrods and the Fulham Football Club. He passed away on Wednesday.

On this side of the pond at least, he was perhaps best known as father to the late Princess Diana’s boyfriend at the time of her death, Dodi Fayed. They were both killed in a 1997 car crash in Paris.

“Mrs. Mohamed Al Fayed, her children and grandchildren wish to confirm that her beloved husband, their father and their grandfather, Mohamed, has passed away peacefully of old age on Wednesday August 30, 2023,” the family shared in a statement released to the media through the soccer team that he once owned. “He enjoyed a long and fulfilled retirement surrounded by his loved ones.”

Beyond his family’s connections with Princess Di, Al Fayed...

Sacha Baron Cohen is reportedly set to revive one of his most beloved characters for an upcoming live comedy tour.

Variety reports that the “Borat” star is in the midst of putting together a new standup tour, part of which will feature Ali G, the dim-witted London rapper whose absurd interview questions frustrated and flummoxed the likes of astronaut Buzz Aldrin, late “60 Minutes” curmudgeon Andy Rooney, and Victoria and David Beckham.

A source close to Cohen, however, denied rumours that Cohen was working on a new movie, as he’s ceased all film and TV-related work in accordance with the ongoing actors’ and writers’ strikes. “As a SAG and WGA member he is supporting the ongoing strike alongside his fellow writers and actors,” the source told Variety.

Read More: Sacha Baron Cohen Calls Donald Trump A ‘Genuine Gangsta’ In Hilarious Ali G Open Letter

Ali G was Cohen’s first breakout character,...

Ok, it’s not a movie or TV, but comedian Sacha Baron Cohen is bringing back his beloved ’90s Ali G character for an upcoming stand-up tour.

Read More: Sacha Baron Cohen In Talks To Bring An ‘Ali G Show’-Esque Series To Showtime

Before Cohen broke out big with 2006’s smash comedy “Borat,” the comedian was already huge in the U.K.

Continue reading Sacha Baron Cohen To Bring Back Ali G In New Stand-Up Tour at The Playlist.

Sacha Baron Cohen is dusting off his beloved character Ali G, Deadline has confirmed.

Cohen’s reprisal of one of his most famous satirical characters will come not via any new film or TV project in development, but rather as part of a stand-up tour that he’s been planning. More concrete details as to how Ali G will figure into his routine, or with regard to tour dates, haven’t yet been disclosed.

First introduced 25 years ago on Channel 4’s The 11 O’Clock Show, Ali G is one of several personas Cohen has adopted to conduct absurdist interviews with public figures ranging from astronaut Buzz Aldrin to football player David Beckham, musician Jarvis Cocker and politician Newt Gingrich. Cohen brought the biggest spotlight onto the character via the sketch series Da Ali G Show, which came to HBO from Channel 4 for its final two seasons, at the same...

Sacha Baron Cohen's satirical interview character Ali G turns 25 this year, and to celebrate, he might be making a comeback. According to a report by Variety, the "Borat," "Bruno," and "Da Ali G Show" creator is planning to incorporate Ali G into a future comedy tour, although a source close to the actor-comedian wants to be clear that Baron Cohen is fully adhering to the current WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike rules. That means that whatever Ali G project is in the works, it's not a new movie.

As a SAG and WGA member he is supporting the ongoing strike alongside his fellow writers and actors," the source assured Variety, but the outlet still reports that Ali G is set to return in some form or another. The poser character who declared himself a voice of the youth who was inspired by hip-hop culture back in the aughts...

Sacha Baron Cohen is bringing back Ali G, the controversial character with whom he first shot to fame in the late 1990s.

Variety understands Baron Cohen has been working on a stand-up tour in which Ali G will make an appearance. A source close to Baron Cohen strenuously denied a new movie was in development, however, noting that the writer and actor is strictly abiding by strike rules. “As a SAG and WGA member he is supporting the ongoing strike alongside his fellow writers and actors,” the source told Variety.

In 2021 the comedian resurrected the Staines-based rapper during a secret gig at The Comedy Store in Sydney, Australia. “I just wanted to get on stage and muck around and see what Ali G would be like with a crowd,” he said at the time. “It was really good fun.”

Ali G celebrates his 25th anniversary this year, with Baron Cohen...

Sacha Baron Cohen, the actor and comedian behind the iconic characters of Borat, Bruno, and Ali G, is reportedly working on a new Ali G movie. According to Daniel Richtman, Cohen has been secretly developing the project without much publicity. The movie would be a sequel to the 2002 comedy Ali G Indahouse, which was the first of four films based on Cohen’s characters from Da Ali G Show.

Ali G Indahouse followed the exploits of Ali G, a wannabe gangster from Staines who becomes a pawn in a political plot to overthrow the Prime Minister of Great Britain. The film featured Cohen’s trademark satirical humor and outrageous antics, as well as appearances by other Da Ali G Show characters, such as Borat and Bruno. The film was a box office success, grossing over £17 million worldwide.

The Dictator Trailer

Cohen has not confirmed or denied the rumors of a new Ali G movie,...

Being stupid, as the saying goes, is like being dead – you’re oblivious either way, so it’s only really a problem for the people around you. The people around TV documentarian Philomena Cunk therefore, have a major problem.

At the end of January this year, America met Cunk properly for the first time when new show Cunk on Earth arrived on Netflix US. A documentary series follow-up to 2018’s Cunk on Britain, it’s an ambitious attempt to sum up the history of humankind in five half-hour episodes, made even more ambitious by the fact that it’s presented by a total moron.

A deliberate total moron, let’s be clear. Some apparently still aren’t clear that Philomena Cunk is not a real TV presenter but a character played by British comedy actor Diane Morgan. When Morgan appeared on US chat show Late Night With Seth Meyers earlier this year,...

Plot: Charles is a womanizer while Elaine is a gold digger. The duo learn humanity when forced to team up and pursue robot doubles of themselves.

Review: Romantic comedies tend to be wholesome and enjoyable without any sort of pertinent social message. The same goes for the typical raunchy sex comedy. Rarely are these two sub-genres seen bundled together, least of all with a science fiction twist. The new film Robots, starring Jack Whitehall and Shailene Woodley, is both a sex comedy and a romantic one but with a sci-fi angle that is all packaged together into a relevant social message about the immigration reform in the United States. If that sounds like a heavy subject matter, rest assured that it delivers a coherent and funny message that may not be quite as strong as the filmmakers hoped. Nevertheless, Robots is a unique blend of styles that is heartfelt and funny.

Sacha Baron Cohen was “attacked” in a bizarre on-stage skit at the Producers Guild of America Awards on Saturday night (25 February).

The British comedian attended the ceremony to present the Darryl F Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures to the makers of Everything Everywhere All at Once.

In a clip from the event shared on Twitter, the Borat star can be seen preparing to read out the nominees, when a man in a balaclava suddenly charges at him with a fake knife, screaming.

Baron Cohen then pretends to fight with the man, before tackling him to the floor and fake-strangling him to death.

Checking the man’s ID, he puts on a shocked expression, shouting to the audience: “It was my brother!”

Baron Cohen then weeps over the man before kissing him and announcing he’s got the “nuclear codes”. “At least Her Majesty can sleep well tonight,...

Keke Palmer and Sacha Baron Cohen have boarded “Super Toys,” the next film from “American Hustle” and “Amsterdam” director David O. Russell, sources have confirmed to IndieWire.

News of the film comes ahead of the European Film Market, which runs from February 16-22. FilmNation Entertainment will handle international sales of the feature during the market, a representative told IndieWire, while CAA Media Rights represents the film’s U.S. rights. Charles Roven and Matthew Budman serve as the producers of the project.

Russell will write and direct the feature, which stars Palmer and Cohen as 70’s toy sales reps “on a life and death mission to save themselves, their marriage and their live-wire twelve-year-old daughter, on the road in middle America,” per the logline.

“Super Toys” will be Russell’s 11th feature film, and follows last year’s “Amsterdam.” That ensemble comedy starring Christian Bale, John David Washington, and Margot Robbie...

Searchlight Pictures announced that Seth Rogen has joined the cast of Aziz Ansari’s feature directorial debut ‘Being Mortal.’

Based on Atul Gawande’s non-fiction book ‘Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End’, the book addresses end-of-life care, hospice care, and also contains Gawande’s reflections and personal stories. He suggests that medical care should focus on well-being rather than survival.

Also in news – Alex Wolff joins growing cast of Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’

The film stars Academy Award® Nominee Bill Murray along with Ansari (“Master of None”), who also wrote the script and is producing with Youree Henley. Taylor Friedman and Cameron Chidsey are overseeing for Searchlight Pictures.

Rogen can currently be seen in Disney+’s highly acclaimed ‘Pam & Tommy’ starring Lily James and Sebastian Stan. He recently starred in HBO Max’s ‘An American Pickle’ and in ‘Long Shot’ alongside Charlize Theron for Lionsgate. Rogen...

Searchlight Pictures announced today that Seth Rogen has joined the cast of Aziz Ansari’s feature directorial debut Being Mortal. The film stars Academy Award® Nominee Bill Murray along with Ansari (“Master of None”), who also wrote the script and is producing with Youree Henley. Taylor Friedman and Cameron Chidsey are overseeing for Searchlight Pictures.

The film is based on Atul Gawande’s non-fiction book Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End. Principal photography will start this April, with Searchlight Pictures set to release the film theatrically in 2023.

Rogen can currently be seen in Hulu’s highly acclaimed “Pam & Tommy” starring Lily James and Sebastian Stan. He recently starred in HBO Max’s An American Pickle and in Long Shot alongside Charlize Theron for Lionsgate. Rogen was nominated for two Primetime Emmy awards for Outstanding Drama Series for Amazon Prime’s “The Boys” and for Outstanding Writing for a Variety,...

When Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Who Is America?” hit the airwaves in 2018, it quickly became the talk of the town in political circles. The Showtime series featured the comedian using a variety of fake personas to trick high-profile figures, ranging from notable politicians to famous internet trolls, into sitting down for embarrassing interviews. While the format was similar to previous Cohen projects like “Da Ali G Show,” it was recognized for Cohen’s remarkable ability to fool people, especially considering the fact that his fame had increased significantly over the years.

Speaking to Judd Apatow for his latest book “Sicker in the Head: More Conversations About Life and Comedy,” Cohen opened up about some of the enemies that the show made him in Washington. While few were surprised he was able to trick the likes of Oj Simpson and Joe Arpaio, Cohen recalled the story of duping someone who really...

Updates earlier exclusive, with quotes:: It’s official. David Eilenberg is returning to being a buyer.

The Chief Creative Officer of ITV America is joining Roku as its Head of Originals.

ilenberg will join in April and report to Rob Holmes, VP Programming at Roku.

It comes as the streaming service has been ramping up the amount of exclusive and original content that it develops and commissions.

Last year, Roku acquired Quibi’s library of original content and launched dozens of short-form shows on The Roku Channel, including a number that never launched on the Jeffrey Katzenberg-led service. In addition, it renewed a number of shows for second seasons.

But outside of the Quibi deal, the service, which essentially began as a streaming aggregator, has plans to bolster its pipeline of original series and films even further with plans to order around 50 series and films over the next two years.

“Bridgerton” star Phoebe Dynevor will executive produce and star in a new feature film at Amazon Studios.

The breakout star of the Shonda Rhimes Netflix sensation has boarded “The Outlaws Scarlett & Browne,” a futuristic thriller from director James Bobin. Screenwriter Joe Tracz is adapting Jonathan Stroud’s book of the same name.

The film is set in a fragmented future England, where gunfights and monsters collide, and where the formidable outlaw Scarlett McCain fights daily against the odds. When she discovers a wrecked coach on a lonely road, there is only one survivor — the seemingly hapless youth Albert Browne. Soon, new and implacable enemies are on their heels and a relentless pursuit continues across the broken landscape of England. Scarlett must fight to uncover the secrets of Albert’s past — and come to terms with the implications of her own.

Temple Hill Entertainment, run by Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey,...

“Home Sweet Home Alone” takes everything audiences loved about the Chris Columbus-directed, John Hughes-penned original and turns it around on them. Holiday sentimentality co-mingling with slapstick violence hits differently when the filmmakers not only swap the roles of the empathetic protagonist and dastardly antagonists, but also take a both-sides approach to rooting interest. While this might seem like an ingenious way to reinvigorate a long-run-into-the-ground franchise where a child faces off against bumbling burglars, this Disney Plus offering maddeningly fails to lean into the aspects it so desperately and ambitiously seeks to change. Mean-spirited, downright sloppy and awkwardly unfunny, this rote feature reboot lacks holiday cheer.

Jeff and Pam McKenzie (Rob Delaney and Ellie Kemper) are begrudgingly selling their home as they can no longer make their mortgage payments. Tech wiz Jeff has been unemployed for months and Pam’s teacher’s salary is dwindling. The cash-strapped couple is...

We’ll put your questions to the actor known for Mel in EastEnders and the Scarecrow in The Masked Dancer, who is now in new movie Bull

Tamzin Outhwaite has popped up in everything from Men Behaving Badly to The Bill, Da Ali G Show, Silent Witness and Inside No 9, and even played a Cyberman-battling Imperial Guard in Doctor Who.

But when the Scarecrow finally took off her mask having taken fourth place in this year’s The Masked Dancer, most viewer would have thought: “Hang on. Isn’t that … Mel off EastEnders?”...

After numerous rumors, Sacha Baron Cohen has confirmed in an interview that he is bringing back one of his biggest characters, Ali G. The comedian and actor said in a recent interview with GQ Magazine that he has recently revived his most famous creation in a series of stand-up appearances at The Comedy Store in Sydney, Australia. Cohen first played the satirical character in 1998 on Channel 4's The 11 O'Clock Show. He was soon given his own series and in 2000 Da Ali G Show aired for the first time and a new comedy king was crowned.

While Sacha Baron Cohen announced the retirement of the character, and another creation, Borat, in 2007 when he turned to more serious acting, Ali G turned up again in 2012 at the British Comedy Awards to accept an Outstanding Achievement Award on behalf of Cohen, arriving with his usual controversial style. Two years later and Ali...

Sacha Baron Cohen is seeking at least $9 million in a lawsuit filed against Solar Therapeutic, a cannabis company that decided to use the fictional Borat character on a billboard advertisement (via The Hollywood Reporter). The Massachusetts interstate billboard depicted Borat giving a thumbs up and exclaiming, “It’s Nice!” Baron Cohen did not give Solar Therapeutic permission to use the character and is suing for copyright infringement, false advertising, and misappropriation of his right of publicity.

“By use of the Billboard, the Defendants falsely have conveyed to the public that Mr. Baron Cohen has endorsed their products and is affiliated with their business,” Baron Cohen’s attorney David Condon writes in the complaint. “To the contrary, Mr. Baron Cohen never has used cannabis in his life. He never would participate in an advertising campaign for cannabis, for any amount of money.”

“The Defendants knowingly misappropriated Mr. Baron Cohen’s portrait,...

A version of this story on “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” first appeared in the Down to the Wire issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.

Years ago, director Jason Woliner was sent a script and told only that it was to be Sacha Baron Cohen’s next movie. The script was top secret, encrypted and nowhere in it did it contain the word “Borat.”

That movie, of course, would become “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,” whose whopping nine screenwriters — a record for the category, to go with the record for the longest title ever nominated for an Oscar — are celebrating its Oscar nomination.

And if it seems odd that it would take nine people to write a largely improvisational film, and that the film would then win a Writers Guild Award and be Oscar-nominated for its screenplay, the...

Back in 2006 British TV comedian Sacha Baron Cohen took the world by storm when he wrote, produced, and starred in the outlandish mockumentary film “Borat.” The title character, a guileless Kazakh journalist, had already appeared in various projects over the preceding decade, including the HBO series “Da Ali G Show” and the 2002 film “Ali G Indahouse.” It was not until he was given his own film, however, that he truly broke into the zeitgeist and his creator experienced his greatest success.

Though he had a BAFTA Award and four Emmy bids to his name prior to “Borat,” Baron Cohen’s popularity rose to new heights upon the film’s release and his comedic genius attracted widespread acclaim. The film outgrossed “Ali G Indahouse” tenfold and became a serious awards contender in 2007. Baron Cohen ended up winning a Golden Globe for his acting and earned WGA and Oscar nominations for co-writing the screenplay.

It’s no easy feat to get Sacha Baron Cohen to explain himself. But with his dual roles in “The Trial of Chicago 7” and “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” making the rounds in awards season, he has no choice but to play the game. “It hate it,” he admitted in a recent phone interview. “It’s fucking horrible.”

However, he insisted that the real motivator was the message he’s been pushing for the past several years — a desire to speak truth to power, rid the world of Trumpism, and save America from itself. “I felt the stakes were higher than any of the movies I’ve done before,” he said. “I really didn’t want anything I’d done to be misconstrued.”

Baron Cohen has been putting his life on the line for over 30 years. When he was 17 years old, he went to a neo-Nazi rally in London. Within a decade,...

Sacha Baron Cohen wanted to end “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” the sequel to his 2006 smash mockumentary, with a bang.

But Rudolph Giuliani, the Trump apparatchik he hoped to prank into embarrassing himself on camera, wasn’t cooperating. The former mayor of New York City had arrived at a hotel suite to be interviewed for a documentary, “Keeping America Alive,” he had no idea was fake; the “Borat” sequel’s filmmakers told him it was about the president’s efforts to defeat the coronavirus. Team Borat had at various points flirted with ensnaring another member of the president’s inner circle, floating such names as Donald Trump Jr. and MyPillow CEO and Trump booster Mike Lindell, but Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, became their prime target.

The problem was that Giuliani refused to take a rapid test to determine if he had Covid-19, violating the strict safety protocols that Baron Cohen...

In 2018, Maria Bakalova had one more year of drama school at the National Academy in Sofia, Bulgaria, when she went on vacation to Denmark. Her plan was to stake out the offices of Zentropa, the production company co-founded by Lars von Trier, to work with the directors whose Dogme ’95 projects inspired her.

“I said, ‘That’s it, I’m moving to Denmark, and I’m going to do my best work there,” Bakalova said in an interview via Zoom.

A few months later, at the age of 22, she was cast in “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” as the fake Kazakh journalist Borat’s daughter, Tutar. She moved to L.A., and her career went in a very different direction.

Bakalova not only holds her own opposite prank artist extraordinaire Sacha Baron Cohen; she also injects his incisive satire with a surprising emotional arc. The role was a crash-course on Baron Cohen’s...

Here’s the latest episode of the The Filmmakers Podcast, part of the ever-growing podcast roster here on Nerdly. If you haven’t heard the show yet, you can check out previous episodes on the official podcast site, whilst we’ll be featuring each and every new episode as it premieres.

For those unfamiliar, with the series, The Filmmakers Podcast is a podcast about how to make films from micro budget indie films to bigger budget studio films and everything in-between. Our hosts Giles Alderson, Dan Richardson, Andrew Rodger and Cristian James talk how to get films made, how to actually make them and how to try not to f… it up in their very humble opinion. Guests will come on and chat about their film making experiences from directors, writers, producers, screenwriters, actors, cinematographers and distributors.

The Filmmakers Podcast #192: Borat 2 Writer and Producer Dan Mazer in our AFM Talk on Screenwriting,...

"Very nice!" British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen first introduced the world to his fictional character Borat Sagdiyev in a series of sketches before making the native of Kazakhstan a key character in his successful series, Da Ali G Show. Borat is a journalist oblivious to the customs and perspectives of Americans. Through this basic setup, he gets his subjects to expose their prejudices and biases they normally keep to themselves - especially when it comes to antisemitism and misogyny.

Related: 10 Films To Watch If You Liked Borat

While the underlining motivations behind Cohen's use of the Borat character are very serious, Borat's skits and two feature films are roll-around-on-the-floor hilarious. Yes, the movies are controversial, but Cohen's brand of humor provides endless insight into how Americans, in particular, view their status in the world.

Given the on-screen insanity, an erratic, Covid-impacted production wrapped in secrecy, and very heavy use of editing, soundtracking a feature such as Amazon’s recent headline-amassing and Rudy Giuliani-angering Borat Subsequent Moviefilm may seem a tall order for any musician.

But it’s a task that composer Erran Baron Cohen knows only too well, having worked with his younger brother Sacha Baron Cohen on all of his previous films and TV shows, including Who Is America?, The Dictator, Bruno, the first Borat feature and, going back some 20 years, Da Ali G Show.

It was the elder Baron Cohen who had to quickly compose the music for “Wuhan ...

Given the on-screen insanity, an erratic, Covid-impacted production wrapped in secrecy, and very heavy use of editing, soundtracking a feature such as Amazon’s recent headline-amassing and Rudy Giuliani-angering Borat Subsequent Moviefilm may seem a tall order for any musician.

But it’s a task that composer Erran Baron Cohen knows only too well, having worked with his younger brother Sacha Baron Cohen on all of his previous films and TV shows, including Who Is America?, The Dictator, Bruno, the first Borat feature and, going back some 20 years, Da Ali G Show.

It was the elder Baron Cohen who had to quickly compose the music for “Wuhan ...

Sacha Baron Cohen is having a bit of a streaming spotlight moment right now, with two very different film projects that are both drawing attention to the English actor and expert farceur. He appears as Abbie Hoffman, the flower-power Yippie leader and social activist, in Aaron Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” which details the events that led to rioting at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. It is available on Netflix.

The other is the now-notorious sequel “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” which can be found on Amazon Prime Video. He reprises his guise as Borat Sagdiyev, a Kazakhstani news reporter who found fame and a prison sentence in his homeland for the past 14 years since his first mock-doc. Right now, the notorious randy antics of a gullible Rudy Giuliani are overshadowing Baron Cohen’s return to a U.S. that is under the divisive reign of Donald Trump while in...

Sacha Baron Cohen is having a bit of a streaming spotlight moment right now, with two very different film projects that are both drawing attention to the English actor and expert farceur. He appears as Abbie Hoffman, the flower-power Yippie leader and social activist, in Aaron Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” which details the events that led to rioting at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. It is available on Netflix.

The other is the now-notorious sequel “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” which can be found on Amazon Prime Video. He reprises his guise as Borat Sagdiyev, a Kazakhstani news reporter who found fame and a prison sentence in his homeland for the past 14 years since his first mock-doc. Right now, the notorious randy antics of a gullible Rudy Giuliani are overshadowing Baron Cohen’s return to a U.S. that is under the divisive reign of Donald Trump while in...

Kazakhstan has reversed their stance on Sacha Baron Cohen and the Borat franchise. The country has adopted one of the fictional character's catchphrases, "very nice!" as its official tourism slogan. Back in 2006, Cohen was hated by Kazakhstan for his depictions of the country as backwards and antisemitic. They threatened to sue and took out ads in newspapers to defend themselves. The country even banned the first Borat movie and Da Ali G Show. Now that Borat 2 is out, Cohen expected more of the same from Kazakhstan.

When Borat 2 was announced, Kairat Sadvakassov, the deputy chairman of Kazakhstan's tourism board, thought, "oh, again?" However, the idea this time around was to just not acknowledge it at all. "The decision was made to let it die its natural death and not respond," Sadvakassov said. However, American Dennis Keen, who did a college study program in Kazakhstan and now lives there,...

[Editor’s note: This story contains major spoilers for “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.”]

“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” finds its fake Kazakh journalist (plus teen daughter) pranking Americans across the country, with shocking results that often lead them to reveal embarrassing or offensive beliefs. Despite the many unnerving surprises throughout the movie, however, much about this “Borat” entry is business as usual: star Sacha Baron Cohen has been building his cringe-inducing blend of documentary and performance art for two decades, ever since “Da Ali G Show” hit HBO. Once again, his antics have targeted a wide-range of real-life people and places.

Over the years, Baron Cohen and his filmmaking team have developed an intricate process to convincing subjects to appear on camera. In some cases, they believe they are participating in a conventional documentary with Borat at its center; in other cases, they don’t even realize they’re in a movie. Many of the people who appear throughout “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm...

How’s this for an October surprise? The Borat sequel, featuring a controversial scene involving President Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, has been made available on Amazon Prime several hours ahead of schedule.

The early release comes just an hour before the start of Thursday’s final presidential debate between Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden. It also comes with this special message from Sacha Baron Cohen’s alter ego:

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When Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan hit in 2006, it was a cultural phenomenon. Everyone had a Borat impression in their back pocket, and audiences were astounded at how star and co-writer Sacha Baron Cohen even pulled off such an audacious quasi-documentary where he would fool Americans with his foreigner-rube schtick. The Borat character had been part of Cohen’s Da Ali G Show, but he was still under-the-radar enough to walk amongst Americans unremarked. 14 years later and Borat is back in an America that’s even …...

No one knows “fake news” better than Sacha Baron Cohen, who pioneered a form of bogus journalism as political satire with “Da Ali G Show” and 2006 spinoff feature “Borat.” That film — which I considered revolutionary enough to merit a place on Sight & Sound’s 2012 poll of the greatest films of all time — brilliantly blurred the lines between staged shtick and candid camera routines, bending the mock-doc format to reveal both the bigotry and generosity of everyday Americans as they interacted with what they perceived to be a clueless foreign reporter.

Now, Baron Cohen is back in character — just in time for the 2020 U.S. presidential election — with stealth sequel “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.” Here, shot and delivered amid an unprecedented global pandemic, is a staggering act of comedic revolt with built-in viral potential. Rowdy and relevant,...

Few could have anticipated the eruption of bigotry and hatred surfacing across America in 2020, but Sacha Baron Cohen called it out long ago. The British comedian-turned-performance artist has never been better at identifying the worst tendencies of the modern world than under the guise of Borat, the mustachioed Kazakh journalist he’s been playing since “Da Ali G Show” premiered 20 years ago, and his latest zany romp proves he’s only grown more confident in the approach with time.

In his 2006 mockumentary, Borat went to America and provoked rampant anti-Semitism across the land. It was hard to imagine how a sequel could go much further. But then Trump happened, white nationalism scored a national platform, internet conspiracy theories went mainstream, and the pandemic only further exacerbated the festering, stupid rage of a society on the brink. The time was ripe for more Borat, and Baron Cohen has met his moment,...

Jagshemash! Yes, 14 years after embedding itself into pop culture, Sacha Baron Cohen is resurrecting the character of Borat Sagdiyev for another feature film. His upcoming film’s complete title is, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.” The movie, filmed mostly in secret, will premiere on Friday, October 23 on Amazon Prime Video.

The film is a sequel to Cohen’s 2006, “Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.” The prank-filled mockumentary sees the Kazakh reporter returning to America in order to find a husband for his daughter and having to quarantine during the initial outbreak of the novel coronavirus. The biggest stunt that we see in the trailer above is Cohen as Borat dressing up in a Donald Trump disguise and interrupting Vice President Mike Pence’s speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (Cpac) earlier this year.

Borat 2: Subsequent Moviefilm is coming to Amazon Prime Video on Friday, October 23rd, and a first proper trailer for Sacha Baron Cohen’s hurriedly-filmed project attempts to give us an idea of what we’re in for, but …we probably still aren’t ready for what we’re about to get.

The existence of a sequel to Baron Cohen’s 2006 comedy vehicle Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan was officially confirmed in late September after being produced in relative secret, and was first announced as Borat! Gift of Pornographic Monkey to Vice Premiere Mikhael Pence to Make Benefit Recently Diminished Nation of Kazakhstan, before being changed to Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe To American Regime For Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (we have officially stopped trying to keep up so let’s just go with Borat 2 for the rest...

Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat returns to “Yankeeland” in the new trailer for Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, the sequel to the hit 2006 comedy.

The trailer finds a disguised Borat (since he’s so recognizable now) venturing to small-town America with his daughter amid the coronavirus pandemic, with the duo wreaking havoc at non-abortion clinics and debutante balls. “What is more dangerous? This virus or the Democrats?” Borat asks a pair of Trump voters. “The Democrats,...